Enrapture
by staceyyyy
Summary: Sometimes you get a lot more than you bargained for. Sometimes what you get turns out to be exactly what you needed. AU.
1. The First Drops Of Rain

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow**

Oliver Queen sat in the back of his Bentley doubting himself for possibly the hundredth time this morning. Why was he even doing this? Not that he had a choice now, considering they were almost at their destination and he had already rescheduled his morning meetings until later today to do this.

But this was certainly not how he had intended to spend his morning.

He looked down at the purse in his lap, moving his hand away from its current resting place on the backseat leather and moved it to trace a finger over the simple black satin. It was certainly not anything Thea would even consider accessorizing with, but then again when did Thea know the meaning of 'less is more'? His sister loved everything sparkly and gaudy and while she always pulled it off with pure Queen style he never saw the appeal when the women around him wore such flashy items.

He looked up from the purse and allowed his gaze to drift outside; his mind wondering to last night and how it had all begun.

_Throughout their whole life, any good story of his began with Tommy roping him into doing one thing or another. Tonight was just an example of that. They had entered the club with the practiced ease that could only be accomplished by those of their wealth and experience for the club scene, quickly taking stock of their surroundings and the atmosphere before heading over to the VIP section that would be theirs for the night._

_He let his gaze slide over the bodies moving on the dance floor as he passed them, watching as they moved to the rhythm of the music. This is where he used to belong. Him and Tommy would spend hours, days, weeks on end in places just like this one, catching the next thrill to pass the time by._

_He didn't feel like he belonged here anymore. His days of partying had dwindled drastically ever since his father's tragic death and he had been forced into the role of CEO for Queen Consolidated. It wasn't that he had never wanted the position, no he did, and his whole life was shaped around the knowledge that he would someday become the head of Thea's and his legacy. But with his father's sudden death he was thrown into the deep end with no time to breathe or get himself together and prepare for all the responsibility that fell onto his shoulders._

_And he had to pick up the pieces of not only the company, but also his family. His mother had taken the death of her husband badly, withdrawing into herself and refusing to talk to anybody, including her family. While it pained him to see her go through that, he knew she just needed time to heal. His sister on the other hand, using the absence of any real parental figure, channeled the pain of losing her father into rebelling. From mixing with the wrong people to drinking and doing drugs, he had lost count of the amount of times he had to pick her up from either the police precinct or from the pavement out the front of one nightclub or another. Nothing he had done or said helped and it wasn't until a couple of months ago that progress could be seen. His little baby sister was coming back to him, more so every day, and he couldn't have been more proud of her._

_So without any real excuse to reject Tommy in being his wingman, he found himself at a VIP table of Verdant, Tommy's new favorite nightclub. Particularly after Tommy had threatened to expose a couple of secrets he knew about him to certain tabloids that would pay a lot of money for any juicy gossip relating to Oliver Queen. Oliver knew that Tommy would never actually follow through with said threats, God knew Oliver had a few up his sleeve against Tommy, but if he was willing to bring out the big guns Oliver knew he was getting desperate._

_And the man had been like a brother to him from the age of four._

_Not that Tommy needed a wingman, between his money and his looks woman were drawn to him left right and center. Being the heir to a billion dollar company allowed Tommy Merlyn the freedom to go about his life any way he saw fit. Even if that way involved alcohol, debauchery and women._

_So Oliver had gone and suited up in his Armani best to spend some time with his best friend, with the knowledge that any night with him was bound to be huge._

_If only he could have guessed how important the night would end up being._

The car had parked outside a rendered two-story townhouse and he looked over with mild interest at the colorful rose bushes thriving at the front of the decked porch. He couldn't help but think that they matched the woman that had caught his eye yesterday perfectly.

With a deep breath, convincing himself that he hadn't come all this way for nothing, he opened the car door and walked up her steps to the front door. Without giving himself another chance to back out he reached his arm up and knocked using the heavy brass knob attached to the middle of the red door.

What he didn't expect was the door to be opened and to be greeted by not the woman he had spent last night with but a small little boy, who was still in his pajamas, and had a head full of curly blonde locks. The boy didn't say anything, just gazed up at him with big blue doe eyes, and those eyes left no doubt in Oliver's mind whether this child was hers or not.

"Um, hi, is your mother home?" He softened his tone automatically, so as not to scare the little one in front of him.

"Yes, but I'm not really allowed to open the door to strangers, and I don't know you. Who are you?"

Oliver had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from chuckling at boy and his bluntness. He really was too adorable.

"My name is Oliver, and you really shouldn't have opened the door. Why don't you close it and go get your mother so she can open it with you?"

"That would be great advise if this little squirt ever actually listened. Is there anything I can help you with…?"

Oliver looked towards the direction of the new voice and was soon faced with a shirtless man who came to lean on the door frame and ruffled the boy's hair as he spoke.

Oliver stood confused as he looked over at the man. He had clearly just gotten out of bed, as he was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, also the whole shirtless thing was a dead giveaway. So who was this? It couldn't be her boyfriend could it? Because she certainly didn't give off the impression that she was in any sort of relationship last night, not that it would have stopped him but he could usually tell those kinds of things. And the fact that she wasn't at home last night didn't seem to be an issue for the man in front of him.

So who was he?

_It came as no surprise that from the moment they entered the club women flocked to them, only seeing the dollar signs that either came with the recognition of their faces and names, or just the gold-diggers that could size a man up by his clothes alone._

_Neither Tommy nor him had ever had a problem with that, they were both too used to it to care and smart enough not to get attached to any of them. It made it easier and less complicated because you couldn't emotionally hurt a woman who was trying to use you for your money._

_So they had moved to their VIP table for the night, Tommy taking care to flirt with and tip the scantily dressed waitress before she left to go fetch their drinks. He watched the crowd on the dance floor below, pushing back his alcohol in the hopes of it making his tiredness go away, being absolutely drained from work that week. Giving up on the crowd as it failed to hold his interest, he let his gaze rove over the other people in the VIP section, only to land on a group of rowdy females in what seemed to be the middle of a bachelorette party._

_Tommy, noticing his distraction, followed his gaze and instantly zeroed in on the unsuspecting girls._

"_My man, this is why I keep you. Now lets introduce ourselves and find us some ladies"._

_Having complimented Oliver on his choice of prey, Tommy waved over the waitress and ordered a round of shots to be delivered to the girl's table with the message that it was from them._

_Oliver just shook his head at his friend's antics, already long acquainted with the ways of Tommy Merlyn._

_He slid his gaze over to the group again, looking over the six females. They were all beautiful in their own way but he was struck with how different each and every one of them seemed. From the fiery redhead, the leather clad blonde and a very professional looking brunette they all had a certain beauty about them._

_But his eyes had landed on the splash of color in their midst. The girl had a hot pink dress on that seemed almost fluorescent under the lights of the club. Her black heels accentuated her long legs but what caught his attention the most was the golden locks that cascaded down her back in a carefully tangled mess._

_His attention was ripped away from the woman when Tommy commented on liking the one in leather. And also the one that looked like a naughty schoolteacher apparently. Again he shook his head at his best friend. He had never had a type, or moreover, _female_ was Tommy's type. Whether they looked like a schoolteacher (or actually were a school teacher if history was anything to go by) or a leather clad huntress he would be into them._

_Oliver on the other hand only had eyes for one girl in the group. And suddenly, as if sensing his gaze on her she looked up and met his eyes, holding his gaze captive and he was shocked at the shiver that ran down his spine from a look alone. He watched the trail of a blush wash over her face and she smiled shyly at him before breaking their gaze to look back at her friends again._

_And he felt the strangest need to have her attention on him again._

Yes they had met at a club but in all the time he had spent with her, and admittedly it hadn't been that long, he never got the impression that she had a boyfriend or a husband. Or whoever that man was in front of him.

He was about to say that he had the wrong house so as not to cause trouble for her in the instance that the man was her partner, more trouble than he cared to deal with anyway, only to be cut off by the sound of her voice as she walked down the steps, her heels clambering on the wooden stairs in her obvious rush.

"Roy! I'm going to work, they called me in, some IT emergency or other. On a Saturday for crying out loud, who do they think I am? And I'm running so very late already. Argh. Can you take Emmett to the…" she trailed off just when she reached the bottom step, frozen on the spot, her hand still under her hair that she was in the process of setting free from her overcoat she had just put on.

"Oliver…what..."

And of course now of all days she loses her ability to speak. No way was he actually here in front of her. Except that he was, with a mixture of confusion and amusement on that ridiculously handsome face. And of course he didn't look any worse for wear after last night while she looked like something the cat had dragged in. She could barely get an outfit together this morning for work after the steaming hot shower she had taken when she had come home.

Last night was, to say the least, mind-blowing.

_She was in the process of getting dressed for her friend Lyla's bachelorette party when the girls had invaded her bedroom, no longer happy to just wait in the lounge room downstairs as asked, and all but crawled onto her bed. Not that she minded, she loved these girls, but six girls sharing one mirror was never a good idea. At least all of them where given the opportunity to dress up at their own places in their own time, unlike her who had to stay back later at work to fix a security breach in their mainframe system._

_So here she was, standing in the middle of her walk in robe listening to the girls chatter away, trying to decide on whether to go with comfort or looks. From the sounds of their conversation she was so glad that Roy had decided to take Emmett out to the movies, his little ears didn't need to hear half of what they were discussing and she felt that she would never be comfortable enough explaining some things to him. With a smile to herself she thought that she would leave all the hard 'birds and the bees' conversations up to Roy to deal with._

"_Felicity, hurry up! Your getting in between me and my alcohol and you know perfectly well that's never a good place to be!" She heard Bianca holler at her before throwing caution to the wind and picking out the fluorescent pink dress that she had bought a year ago but had never been brave enough to wear. Don't get her wrong, she loved her bright colors, but this color was deadly._

_Deciding not to think about it too much, and before she changed her mind or Bianca dragged her out to the club naked, she shucked on the dress choosing black simple but extremely high stilettoes and a black clutch to complete the look._

_She stepped out into her room to be greeted by wolf whistles._

"_Girl you look hot! We are so getting you laid tonight!" Lyla said over the cheers of the other girls, not giving Felicity a chance to get over her embarrassment._

_Laurel just shook her head at the bride-to-be as she met Felicity's gaze, smiling at her both in understanding and pity, before coming to her rescue. "Lyla this night is about you!"_

_Lyla waved her off with a hand in the other woman's face. "Exactly, I've got my dream man, it's time we set Felicity up with hers!"_

"_I haven't even met your one!" said an affronted Sara who was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed._

_Lyla's romantic sigh caused most of them to either snort or sigh as she looked towards Sara, "Dig's always too busy with his security firm. I barely get to see him and I'm getting married to him, but argh when I do see him he's…!" the wagging of her eyebrows left no doubt in any of their minds as to what she was refereeing to._

"_Okay! Before we get too much information about the life and times of John, I think we should concentrate on tonight ladies!" Felicity said while she watched Jen run out of the room at her words, only to run back in seconds later but this time with a large box tied with ribbons in tow._

"_Okay ladies, so for now we have a party, but considering we're at the start of a _bachelorette _party we need props, sooo…"_

_And with the big reveal movements of her hands she opened the box as all the girls huddled to get a closer look only to start laughing at the sight of what was inside. Because inside was a pile of white lace garters, carefully placed around a red one that was obviously Lyla's._

"_Now ladies, you all have to wear one, even Felicity and Laurel! And of course Lyla you get a matching red sash to wear as well, we'll see how many free drinks that will get you" Jen continued to explain with a wink._

_Felicity was thankful that the length of her dress would cover the offending garment if it was placed high enough on her thigh, an advantage that Bianca didn't have in her barely there mini red skirt. Not that she seemed to mind in the least as Felicity heard her say something or other about using it as a 'mating call' to the males that would be around her tonight._

_Once they had gotten to the nightclub they were instantly ushered into the pre booked VIP section and Felicity was grateful for the comfortable booth they were given as she thought of the rest her feet would need later on in the night with the heels she had on. They were sexy, sleek, daring and she absolutely loved them but they were not made to be worn hours on end._

_A round of drinks were ordered almost instantaneously as they did what they did best since their college days, sat, drunk and enjoyed each other's company. They were all different, both in appearance and in personalities but she wouldn't change any one of them for anything. She had known each of the girls for years, some for more than a decade, and while they had had their ups and down she knew she would do anything for each of them and they would certainly return the favor._

_It wasn't until much later that her eyes met the strangers from across the VIP section._

_She had felt a gaze on her and her eyes had seemed to be drawn in his direction. And it may or may not have been the alcohol talking but he looked entirely too lickable for his own good. His blue eyes almost pierced her with their intense gaze and she felt like she was going to drown in them._

_A squeal from her right brought her out of the haze that was caused by those blue depths and she turned her head back to the girls, giving herself a little shake to snap out of it. There was absolutely no way someone like him would be interested in her anyway._

_Oh she was pretty, she knew that, she had the whole skinny blonde thing happening for her, but nobody had ever stopped talking when she walked into a room like they did for Bianca with her mane of fiery red hair and winning smile. No one ever flocked to her side like they did to Laurel and Jennifer, the only two brunettes at their table and both absolutely stunning in their own right. And she was fine with that, really she was._

_She forced those thoughts to the back of her mind, willing herself to enjoy the night that had just begun, only to be completely interrupted in her thought process when squeals and giggles came from the direction of Sara and Bianca at the tray of shots that had been brought to their table, only to be increased in volume when the waitress confirmed that they were from the two guys that sat across from them on the other side of the VIP section._

_All six heads swiveled to their direction and Felicity once again met the blue gaze of the stranger, only to have her attention caught by the brunette man that was now standing up at his side to make his way over to them, but not before looking back and making sure that the blonde that was still seated followed him. She watched as he stood with a long-suffering sigh but didn't miss the hint of amusement that played in his eyes as he followed his friend to their table._

"_Ladies, I couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity to introduce myself to a bunch of knockouts all at one table, tonight seems to be my lucky night"._

_His voice was silky and flirty but Felicity relaxed at the hint of humor in his tone, knowing that it was all in good fun. She watched as the reactions of her friends varied, Laurel rolling her eyes at his words, Bianca laughing her usual haughty laugh that she got when around cute guys she was interested in, Lyla waving him over to sit by her side._

"_Well come on then handsome don't be shy now that you're here! I'm getting married tomorrow and this might be the last time I get to be in club to set my bombshell friends up!"_

_He kicked his head back in laughter at her words and introduced himself as Tommy and his friend as Oliver, who was still standing idly next to their table._

_Lyla, without a second thought, reached over for Tommy's hand and dragged him to sit in between herself and Sara, who Felicity noticed was getting more and more withdrawn by the second. And Sara was never withdrawn. She rocked the hell out of the leather pants she was wearing and never cared about what people thought of her. The girl had the confidence that could only be rivaled by that of Bianca, who was a loose cannon in her own right. Felicity couldn't begin to guess why this guy was suddenly having this kind of an effect on her, particularly when he didn't even know what was happening on his left with Lyla keeping him preoccupied to his right for now._

_Dragging her eyes from Sara, she let her gaze drift to Jen who had her hand out to Oliver, making him sit between her and Felicity. He couldn't help but notice him sitting closer to her than to Jen and the way the contact from the graze of his shoulder on hers made sparks fly up her arm. By the sound of the hitch in his breathing she wasn't the only one affected._

_From then on the drinks flowed, all put onto what seemed to be Tommy's unlimited credit card by the looks of things as round after round was ordered without a second thought and before the girls even had a chance to open their mouths to ask. Oliver for his part contributed very little to the conversation, content to just sit there and allow Tommy to take the reigns on the conversation._

_When the girls stood up to dance, so did the boys and Felicity couldn't help but feel the stab of jealousy when she saw Jen take Oliver's hand in hers and drag him behind her towards the dance floor ahead of the pack. Admittedly, there was six of them and only two guys, one of the girls was bound to be interested in a man that was as attractive as he was. Statistically speaking. Lost in her thoughts she missed the way his eyes glanced back at her even though he was being pulled into the direction of the dance floor._

_Bianca had long ago taken Tommy for herself but Felicity hadn't stopped surreptitiously stealing glances in Sara's direction the whole night, watching her move further and further away from the couple. She knew she had to drag her to the bathroom later on in the night and demand an explanation but for now she wanted her friend to enjoy herself._

_So she reached for her hand pulling both Sara and Lyla in the direction of the dance floor, the crowd parting for their little procession until they where in the middle of the moving pack. Once joined by Laurel, the three of them started twisting and twirling around a happy but fairly tipsy at this point Lyla, all three women wanting to make the bride to be's night as special and fun as possible._

Okay so here he was, in front of her, but why?

She couldn't stop her eyes from traveling up his body, thoughts flooding her mind as to exactly _what_ she had done with him last night, only to have her gaze stop at her clutch that was held firmly in his grip. She didn't even bother fighting down a grin.

Realizing that they still had an audience, she nodded for Oliver to wait and kneeled down to her son's eye level.

"Emmett can you be a good boy and help mommy this morning? Go eat your breakfast for me real quick please?" her heart swelled, as it usually did when she was with her son, as he nodded and leaned up to give her nose a kiss before scurrying away into the direction of the kitchen.

Now that the little kid was sorted she turned to the big kid, praying that Roy hadn't seen her clutch in Oliver's hand. By the sly grin on his face she had ran out of luck and he had.

"Can you give me a minute?" she directed at Roy, knowing it was hopeless but wanting him to give him the chance all the same.

"Why would I miss this show Liss?"

Oliver looked on confused as she physically pushed Roy into the same direction Emmett had gone, "Roy Harper, go help your nephew with his breakfast or so help me God I will ruin you".

She turned back to Oliver before he had a chance to mask a look of relief on his face and she couldn't help but wonder why he was relieved.

"So that's your brother?" Ahhh, that's why. She guessed that she could understand that, no one wants to deal with your one-night stands better halves.

"Yes unfortunately. I love him to death but something I get the urge to…" she trailed off, letting her actions of choking speak for themselves. That earned her a chuckle from him and she wondered what it would feel like to hear that sound everyday. Instantly pushing that thought far into the back of her mind she tried to get back to the matter at hand. "So…"

"Ah, yes. You left your purse at my apartment and I figured considering it has your phone and everything in it that you would definitely need it. So I found your ID that has your address on it and decided to drop it in before work, so…"

What is wrong with him? He _never _babbles.

But the smile that graced her faced was worth all the babbling nervousness that seemed to consume him when she was around.

He passed the clutch onto her with a silent nod, opening his mouth to say something else only to be interrupted by the sound of his driver beeping his horn.

"I have to go". He said it but he made no motion to actually leave.

"Thank you for the purse Oliver, and well, for everything else. Hope you have a good day". She had let him off the hook. Surely a man like him didn't need some whiny and needy girl chasing after him with all sorts of demands. She knew what last night was about for him and while maybe she wanted just a little bit more she knew that wasn't practical. And she was nothing if not practical.

He smiled at her in amazement and relief, "Felicity, you are remarkable".

"Thank you for remarking on it".

She didn't miss the way his eyes seemed to heatedly rove over her body, as if he knew what was under those clothes – which he obviously did – and liked what he saw. With a parting nod to her he turned and without a backwards glance ran down her porch steps and jumped into the back seat of his car.

The heat from that last gaze almost scorched her from the inside out and she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to the remainder of last night.

_These heels were made to be admired not to be danced in, she thought as she made her way back into the VIP section of the club, bypassing their empty table completely and moving towards the restrooms, Sara, Jen, Laurel and a swaying Lyla at her heels. As soon as she walked inside she made sure that all the stalls where empty, thanking the club owner in her head for having the foresight and being considerate enough to give the VIP's their own private bathrooms, before she rounded on Sara._

"_Okay, what is going on with you tonight?"_

"_Nothing Felicity don't worry about it, I'm fine"._

"_Don't you nothing me Sara Lance, something is going on between you and Tommy ever since he introduced himself so spill, what happened?"_

_The girls watched as Sara sighed, sinking in her stance before their eyes as she looked anywhere except their faces._

"_Two weeks ago I slept with a guy Liss. It was great, amazing actually, I got up the next morning, left his place and haven't thought of him since. Didn't even cross my mind. Until I look up and there he is, all perfectly charming in front of me tonight. And you know what the worst part is? He doesn't even remember me. I'm that girl, the one that doesn't get remembered, the one that leaves in the morning to never return after a good night, but one that isn't even worth remembering the next morning apparently. I'm that girl, always have and always will be"._

_Laurel moved in to step next to her sister, slinging her arm across Sara's back and pushing her head down onto her shoulder._

"_Sara but that's the way that you always wanted it isn't it? You never wanted to know them, who they were, heck you didn't even want to know their names!"_

_She said with a smile that finally got a hint of amusement out of the distressed blonde._

"_Now that you know that you want more, you can have more yeah?"_

"_Yeah" Sara whispered in return._

"_Good. Now lets go find you that more!" Felicity spoke, trying to get another smile of out the blonde Lance sister._

_Jen took the opportunity to speak up for the first time since coming into the bathroom with the others. "So what do you plan to do with Oliver then tonight Liss?"_

_Felicity couldn't help the blush that was slowly creeping up her face, giving her nerves away to the girls. "Nothing Jen, he seems to be more into you than he is me, he's all yours for the night", she was so proud of the way she had managed to keep her voice steady as she talked._

"_Pfft! That man hasn't looked away from you the whole night, including while dancing with me, so lets say I may or may not have asked a few questions about you while we danced, or as I like to call it, did a little bit of recon," she said with a sly grin to the other girls in the bathroom._

"_You didn't! What did you say?! Argh Jen! Why?" She knew that Jen always had good intentions, and she loved her dearly for it, but why!?_

"_Please Liss, that man is pure sex on a stick. Go home with him tonight. Trust me, you deserve a night out. You never go out, I love Emmett with all my heart and he's a great kid but as he gets older you're not getting any younger."_

_Laurel stepped in, willing to diffuse the situation before Felicity got the wrong message from what Jen was saying. "She's right Felicity, she's just not putting it into the right words," she flashed Jen a glare but continued, "You're a young and beautiful woman and we love you, but you've been putting your life on hold and you can't do that, especially after what happened with Barry, enough time has passed."_

_Sarah jumped in at this, "They're both right. Start living your life sweetie. Tonight. Starting with that man candy that I'm sure will live up to everything that package promises to be."_

_Felicity was on the verge of tears. She knew she deserved to have fun, she knew that, but between her job and Emmett she didn't have time for a love life. It had been inexistent since Barry. So what exactly was holding her back?_

_She was cut off from her musing by the sound of a forgotten Lyla vomiting into the toilet and all three rushed to her aide, Sara reaching her first and pulling her hair back for her and holding it._

"_So I guess its home time then?" Sara questioned the girls as she turned back around to them._

_The mumbled 'yes' that came from the bathroom stall made all of them break out in a fit of giggles knowing that they all now had the perfect blackmail material against the bride to be._

_They made their way back to the table, noticing only Tommy and Bianca, who was practically sitting on top of him, at the table. Felicity scanned the crowd for Oliver, but without finding him she quickly turned back to the table._

"_Looks like we're going to have to go Tommy," she heard Bianca whisper into Tommy's ear and she moved her eyes in the direction of Sara who was pointedly ignoring the whole exchange before her._

_She felt his presence before she saw him, his scent washing over her, and he stood close enough to her back that she felt the heat radiating off him. They all made their way outside, with unsteady movements from Lyla and loud protests from Tommy at them leaving so early. Oliver's hand had not left the small of her back as he led her through the crowd and she felt it scorching her skin through the thin material of her dress._

_When they had eventually reached the street entrance Felicity automatically recoiled into Oliver, seeking out his warmth. She swore that man could be her own personal furnace. Hearing him chuckle behind her made her realize she had said her thoughts out loud._

_She felt his arm wrap around her waist and pull her into his side more firmly, although the gentleness with which he handled her surprised her._

"_Oliver…"_

_She didn't know what she had planned on saying but she loved the way his name rolled off her tongue, and from the growl that she felt vibrate in his chest he liked hearing her say it._

"_Come home with me tonight."_

_And she didn't have to guess what for. The way the heat in his gaze held her eyes and his hand pushed her even closer into his body gave him away._

_And she really didn't care. She wanted this, wanted him. He obviously wasn't looking for anything serious so it wouldn't be complicated tomorrow. There would be no awkward mornings. No heartbreaking breakups. So she threw caution to the wind for once in her life._

"_Okay"._

That 'Okay' ended up leading her into one hell of a night.

She closed her heavy wooden door once the car was out of sight and wondered whether she would see him again.

Oliver.

She blushed to the tips of her roots when she realized with a satisfied smile that she didn't even know his last name.

**So this is the big multi chapter fic i was talking about. There is a lot more of it to come so I do very much hope you like it so far!**

**Love to all - Stace XX**


	2. Lightening Spark

**Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow. **

He hoped his father would be proud.

He stood by the floor to ceiling windows in his sleek office, overlooking Starling City and its inhabitants, and thought of the new project that was about to be launched. Months had been put into this expansion, with it being the first major move of his career as CEO of the company, and he couldn't help but hope that the man that had raised him, the man that had instilled honor and pride into him, would now be looking down at him in approval.

Turning back to his mahogany desk, his eyes roaming over the documents that were scattered haphazardly across it, he couldn't help but think that this week would have been a hell of a lot easier if he hadn't gone out clubbing with Tommy a week ago. He never would have met her and his mind would be on the right track to solely concentrate on where it needed to be, Queen Consolidated.

Clearly fate had other plans.

_Felicity Smoak_.

The one woman he had not stopped thinking about since he had first laid eyes on her that night. Something about her had caught him in her web and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be set free or not. She was like a mystery that needed solving and the more he thought about her the more the questions piled up. Who was she? What was her son like? Why did she live with her brother? Where was Emmett's father? Millions of questions had run through his head all week but one seemed to dominate them all. One that he should have been able to answer with ease but couldn't. _Why did he even care?_

It had started off as a one-night stand, and as history had proven he never got involved with his one night stands past the physical sense.

So what was so special about this girl? What made her so different from all the others?

_As he opened his eyes that morning he realized two very important things, one being that it was still very early. The first rays of sunlight where only just beginning to peak into his bedroom around the heavy drapes of his bedroom and a cursory glance towards his alarm clock on the bedside table only confirmed his suspicions. _

_The second thing he noticed was the thing that had originally woke him up in the first place, the pale arm that was casually thrown over his midsection as its owner slept on her stomach facing away from him. _

_Thoughts of last night flooded back into his mind as he looked down at the woman currently dead to the world in his bed. The sheet that was covering her only reached her waist leaving the creamy unflawed skin of her back and shoulders free for his eyes to peruse. Her hair was strewn across his pillow in a beautiful tangled mess and he had to fight down the urge to touch the locks and see whether they were truly as soft as he remembered them to be last night or whether it was just his mind playing alcohol induced tricks on him. _

_Carefully, so as not to jostle and wake her, he lifted her arm and moved off the bed in the hopes that the distance would allow him to clear his head and get his thoughts together. _

_He looked over at the view below, seeing the first stirrings of life as the city woke up before him. A girl had never had this amount of pull on him, and the worst part about the whole thing was she seemed absolutely clueless to it all. She had gotten under his skin in the best possible way. _

_He turned back to face her, feeling the wave of possessiveness overtake him as he watched her sleep on his bed, her toned legs tangled in his sheets and blonde ringlets thrown across his pillow. This was ridiculous, he had to get away from her, had to escape the flame that he was drawn to like a helpless moth. He was sure that this would be another case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. In a week she would be nothing but a distant memory. _

_He ignored the voice in the back of his mind that sounded oddly like his sister that said he was already past the point of no return. _

This wasn't working for her, and more than anything she _hated_ technology not working for her. At this point she wasn't even sure whether it was her mind or the codes in front of her that were just not cooperating.

She sat in her brightly lit office using her fingers to massage her temples as she stared at the screen realizing that this is exactly what she had been trying to avoid; distractions. Because every single time she had been given a spare minute to think this past week her traitorous mind had drifted to Oliver. And his hands, his warmth, his weight on top of her, and all the other minute details that she remembered from that night.

She turned away from the screen, taking in her office and the colorful knick knacks that she had lying around on the shelves that stood against the main wall of her office. It was her own personal organized chaos and she loved it. She loved the bright picture frame on the top shelf that displayed Roy holding Emmett upside down by one leg with Emmett's face split into one of his widest grins that stood next to her Information Technology Encyclopedias. She loved the brightly painted sunshine statue that Jen had gotten her from Australia next to the fancy NASA-like stapler that Lyla had gotten her for last year's April Fools.

Her thirty second level office was perfect and she loved it, all splashes of color coming from her own personal items with light streaming in from the huge windows behind her desk. It really was the biggest shame that she hardly ever spent any time in it. While she loved writing codes and creating new programmes, her position incorporated a lot of travel between the branches of the firm both domestic and international to either set up new systems or upgrade their old ones. She loved the hands on approach to her job and the demand for her skills but she did miss being in one spot for a while every now and then.

When she had first come out of college she had applied for jobs in all the major companies that had a rapidly growing Applied Science division. Once receiving the acceptance letters for her apprenticeship she narrowed it down to the one based in Starling City, she had always loved the city when she had visited and the fact that it was on the other side of the country from her hometown certainly did have its advantages.

Here she was, seven years later, in a position that was unheard of at her age. She had been extremely lucky in the fact that her skills where noticed early on and she had a chance to prove herself, not long after which her apprenticeship was prematurely terminated and she had received a shiny new employment contract on her desk.

And now here she was, sitting in her office completely unable to focus on anything other than the man that was entirely too lickable for her liking. No one should be that attractive, it just wasn't fair to all the other males around him. Her professional mind set and demeanor had clearly decided to fly out the window this week because of it.

She wondered if she'll ever see him again but quickly brushed that thought aside. Between work and Emmett she didn't have time for a love life. After Barry died she wasn't sure how she would even juggle the two but one day Roy had shown up on her doorstep to stay the night and had never really left.

He had been in Central City for a couple of years and to this day she didn't know why he had shown up when he had, whether it was because he knew she needed him or whether he was the one that needed her after a particularly difficult time in his life she didn't know. But she was ever so grateful that he had shown up and now she couldn't imagine a life without him as a permanent fixture in it.

They had always been close, and even though he was younger than her he would always look out for her, it seemed like throughout her childhood he was the only one that understood the geeky girl that would rather be engrossed in the belly of a computer rather than being out with her peers.

And the way he had helped out with Emmett over the last couple of years was amazing. She had more often than not taken Emmett with her on all her business trips, especially the domestic ones, but sometimes it was out of the realms of possibility and she honestly thought that without Roy she would be out of a job. Or at the very least in a completely different position than she was in now, a mundane desk job that wouldn't be half as fulfilling as what she was doing now.

So back to the matter at hand, it wasn't that she didn't want to date per se, it was more that she just didn't have the time, Oliver being the one exception in all the years after her husband's death.

Oliver had been one hell of an exception.

_When she had gone out with the girls tonight she hadn't expected this, to meet someone, and she certainly didn't expect to meet anyone like him. _

_And she hadn't expected him to step out from behind her as they watched the last of their friends leave on taxi's, only to clasp one of her cold hands in his large one, pulling her gently away from the taxi's lined up and waiting for the exiting party goers. _

_Catching her look of confusion his grin broadened, "Fancy a walk, its not too far from my apartment?" _

_Her nod was the only answer he received, as she was pretty much at a loss for words at the man before her. With the way she had been acting like a love struck teenager these past couple of hours she could probably use the walk to cool off. She stepped closer to him and he took the opportunity to settle an arm around her, using the excuse of body heat and needing to get her warmer in the cool night's air to get closer to her. _

"_So, where is your place exactly?" she hated to break the silence but amidst all her genius qualities, shutting up at the appropriate time was not one of them. The chuckle she felt rather than heard from him made her know that he didn't really mind the question. _

"_Park Street"._

_Her eyebrows rose and she was thankful that he couldn't see her reaction. Park Street was one of the most expensive streets in Starling and while she clearly saw by his suit that he wasn't a pauper, she hadn't expected this. Not that it made much difference to her all the same but knowing that he wasn't taking her home to steal her mobile and money was always a good thing. _

_They walked in comfortable silence for a bit until they reached the entrance to Starling City Park, at which he pulled her inside the archway towards the lane lined with street lamps and oaks inside. _

_Again he pulled out his smirk with a, "It's quicker through the park". _

_She should have been worrying that he was a serial killer leading her to her death. Or that he was a criminal waiting for the right opportunity to steal everything she had on her, which admittedly wasn't all that much. But in that moment she seemed to trust him, the look in his eyes made her want to believe in the hero inside for some reason. _

_And so against her better judgment she followed him, her hand firmly clasped in his as his thumb grazed her knuckles and she couldn't decide whether the simple movement was relaxing her or lighting a fire that could not be extinguished. _

_When they reached the middle of the park she physically faltered, almost tripping if it wasn't for his strong arm that curled around her waist with perfect timing. All because she thought she has stepped into a fairytale. Sure she had been in the park before during the day, she had eaten there and watched Emmett and the other children laugh, play and cry. She had watched lovers as they sat hand in hand as the trickle of water played a sweet melody for them in the background. But not once had she seen the park's Centre Fountain at night. _

_And it was beautiful. _

_It seemed to glow in the light of the street lamps almost a luminescent yellow, all angelic and regal looking before her. _

_And she couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol that was still in her system, her seemingly fairytale surroundings, or the man that stood in front of her now but the whole world seemed a little bit brighter, more colorful to her eyes. _

_And she drank it all in, not wanting to relinquish the feeling of freedom that was surrounding her, consuming her. That is until all she could feel around her was him, one of his arms around her waist and the other with its hand at her neck, bringing her ever closer into him, into his warmth. His fingers wove into her long tresses and she had to let out a moan of pleasure at the light tug that she felt at the nape of her neck. She in turn heard the answering groan from him as her nails, unknowingly and without her permission, started scraping at the back of his neck and shoulders. _

_She felt consumed by him _

_Heat. That was all he felt. Starting from their joined lips, it traveled down to his very toes, heating him from the inside out until he was sure his blood would boil. _

_The car alarm in the distance startled them both out of their kiss but he never surrendered his hold of her as both hands moved to frame her face and his forehead lent on hers. Their breaths mingled in the cool spring air and he felt a surge of pride at the way her breathing was labored, matching his, the way her pulse hammered under his pinky fingers on her neck, the way her lips looked swollen and perfect from his kiss. _

_And with that he plunged back in again, commanding and dominating, trying to take as much as she would give him. Because he was quickly coming to realize that he wanted a lot more from her than he had ever wanted before. _

_Yes, Oliver was certainly not what she had expected when going out with the girls tonight. _

So yes, she hadn't been able to get him out of her head. Realistically she knew that any girl would have problems trying to get a man like that out of her head. There were only so much epic romantic fountains, washboard abs and heart shattering kisses that a girl could take. The man was the full package.

But she had to stop it and focus on her work, focus on things that had a chance of being possible, because she doubted she would ever actually see him again. Yes he knows where she lives, and yes that was possibly the best sex she had had in her entire life, and yes she knew where he lived but she never had been the type to chase down a guy. She refused to be a stalker on principle after a certain episode in college with a lacrosse player that she rather not think about. No matter how much she wanted to see him again, talk to him, kiss him, feel him.

But no, she had to stop with that train of thought.

So she got up and walked out of her office, picking up her friend Kelsey on the way to grab a cup of much needed coffee.

Kelsey was a bright young girl in her early twenties and amidst all the older colleagues that Felicity worked with Kelsey stood out like a bright light. She had over the years grown a weak spot for the girl and her idle chatter, and their coffee breaks that always led to the latest water cooler gossip from the bouncing brunette always helped Felicity wind down after a particularly stressful morning. Which is exactly what she needed this morning.

Kelsey gave her the usual unofficial rundown of office goings on that Felicity might have missed while she was away for the couple of days she had been out of the office, and they stepped inside the break room, both failing to see the man that was already inside and who had stilled at the sound of their laughter.

He couldn't tell whether it was his imagination or not but the sound of her laughter made his body respond to her proximity before his mind even had a chance to catch up to his actions. He turned and drank in the sight of her, grateful for a change that she was yet to notice him, giving him the perfect opportunity to observe her.

The biggest change he saw was the glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose, framing her eyes perfectly. She had obviously foregone them when she went out with her friends but now he could tell that this was more natural for her, more suited to her. He liked it more than he cared to admit.

His eyes travelled down, catching the sight of her exposed collarbone and the spot in her neck that he remembered to be extra sensitive. He let his eyes move down to the perfectly fitted yet still somehow professional navy dress that she had on, the patterns of yellow lace covering only her sides making his hands itch to graze up and follow said patterns.

His eyes were next drawn to her shoes and he had to repress a groan at the sight. This woman and her shoes were surely going to be the death of him. There was just no way for him to properly describe those bright yellow heels that made him weak at the knees from the sight of them on her shapely legs without doing them justice. He forced himself to look away moving back up her body until her reached her face again.

And it was as if she felt his eyes on her as she cocked her head to the side and her gaze locked on his. He watched as emotions played on her face from confusion, embarrassment, desire, shock and intrigue. She was frozen on the spot and clearly just as shocked to see him as he was her, if her stance was anything to go by.

What in the hell was he doing here? She couldn't believe he was actually standing in front of her, the man that had been on her mind constantly since first laying eyes on him. Kelsey's voice was melting into the white noise in the background as she continued to talk, failing to notice Felicity's preoccupation.

Getting herself together she ripped her gaze away from his blue depths, attempting to piece together what felt like pieces of a puzzle until everything clicked into place for her.

She threw a quick; "Got to go, forgot to do something", Kelsey's way and almost ran out of the room into the hallway and in the direction of her office as quick as her heels allowed her to go.

She usually loved the glass that surrounded her in her office. Not today. Not when she felt like she was about to either explode or have a nervous breakdown. Because of course he was here in her office now after following her all the way from the break room. How had she not put two and two together? She felt him rather than saw him behind her as she stood facing her desk, trying to even out her breathing to avoid the panic attack that was setting in.

She turned to face him, steeling herself for the truth that she wasn't ready to face yet even though everything was so glaringly obvious now. How had she missed it?

He could see her mind working at a rapid pace putting everything she had known about him together from when she had first met him. Honestly he was a bit surprised that she hadn't caught on sooner.

"Oliver…" her whispering his name made his mind flash back to her in an entirely different setting only a week ago.

_Her back was flush against the back wall of the lift and she was grateful for the little amount of purchase that it provided, if it wasn't for it and Oliver's hard body pressing her into the wall she would have been a puddle at his feet by now. When her hands rose to his biceps he let out an involuntary moan, digging his hips further into hers in an attempt to ease the tension that was rapidly building in both their bodies even by a fraction._

_He looked down at her, taking in her flushed face and swollen lips, loving the look that he saw in her eyes, the hunger and need that shone in those beautiful azure depths. _

_He both cursed and thanked the fact that his apartment was on the top floor of the building. On one hand he got to enjoy her being cornered into the back of the lift pressed tightly up against him just a little bit longer. However it also served to be a barrier, prolonging the time at which he would have her in his bed and under him while he studied all the spots on her body that made her scream. _

_So there he stood. Denying them both the contact that they both so desperately craved, knowing that if he kissed her now he would lose all his will power and take her right there and then. And while in the past that would never have been an issue for him, cameras and people that may be watching be damned, he wanted this to be special for some particular reason. _

_Something about this girl was special _

"Oliver. As in Oliver Queen. Fuck, Of 'course. As in you literally own the building I'm standing in! And it never once occurred to you to tell me that you were my boss's boss!"

Her voice rose hysterically with each word she spoke but he couldn't help the smirk that was making its way across his face. Yes, he didn't just imagine the fire that he had seen that night, here she was before him, all light and fire personified and it was becoming increasing difficult for him not to reach out and touch her.

"No, I didn't tell you, but to be fair at the time I didn't know that you worked for me".

She felt her face heat up even more, anger giving way to the embarrassment she felt overtaking her. Of course he didn't know who she was. Hell she didn't know who he was at the time. This is not how one night stands work! Not that she had a plethora of experience in that department but that wasn't the point. The point was that he wasn't supposed to be as good as he was. He was supposed to be forgettable. And he was definitely not supposed to be her boss.

Her lack of response spoke volumes in itself and he decided to take pity on her, wanting to continue taking to her rather than have her disappear in a flowery scented cloud again. The same scent that had plagued him in his sleep every night as it clung to his sheets and pillow.

"How is your boy, Emmett?"

She looked surprised that he remembered her child's name, he himself was surprised with himself, but she thankfully choose to answer him rather than question.

"Good, he's good. He's got a martial arts competition coming up next week that he's so excited about," he watched as her eyes lit up as she spoke about her son, only to turn a little mischievous with her next sentence, "How's Tommy? He was a bit of a success with the girls last week".

His answer was accompanied with a grin as he thought about all Tommy had told him about her friend, "He's good, him and your friend Bianca got along just fine from what I heard".

She smiled too, Bianca had dished to her on Sunday with an excessive amount of detail that Felicity didn't ever need to know regarding exactly how friendly they had gotten. In the taxi. In the hallway of Bianca's apartment building. In her apartment. On her balcony. Felicity didn't think she would ever feel the same again in Bianca's apartment.

But thoughts of Bianca and Tommy led to thoughts to her and Oliver and that was just dangerous territory.

_The bing of the elevator reaching his floor was like a calling beacon for him as he dragged himself away from her, his hand gliding down her arm to reach her hand and clasp it in his larger one, guiding her out of the lift and into the direction of the living room. He thanked the heavens the elevator went straight into his apartment and there were no doors or locks to hinder their progress any further. As soon as the doors closed they were a mess of clashing teeth, wandering hands and dueling tongues, both too consumed in the other to pay much attention to anything else. _

_That was until somewhere between the lounge room and his bedroom she took her heels off. His mouth was literally ripped from hers in his shock at the sudden height difference and a whole other surge of male dominance swept through him at this petite blonde in front of him. His hands made their way down her sides until they reached her thighs, gripping them to lift her up into his arms, making her dress ride up in the process as her legs wrapped around his hips. _

_However the scrape of lace that his fingers encountered at the top of her right thigh came as a surprise to him and he pulled away from her so that he could get a better look. The fabric looked stark white in the dim lighting and the contrast it made with her glowing skin only served to turn him on more. _

_She almost fainted when he placed her onto his bed and proceeded to make his way down her body trailing butterfly kisses as he went until he reached said garter. Which he then took off. _

_With his teeth. _

He could pinpoint the exact moment her mind had gone to _that _night. Her eyes taken on a distinctive glassy look and he could tell that she was reliving the moments that they had shared together, much like he had done a countless number of times throughout the week and he was glad that she was just as affected by him and he was by her.

Because no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise this past week, this girl was different. She had gotten under his skin without even trying, without even knowing who he was, and while he wasn't sure where this was going he didn't want to let go of her just yet.

Yes they hadn't met under ideal circumstances, even if it had lead to phenomenal results, but there was no way he was letting her go a second time. Not when life was basically pushing them together. So he took a leap of faith.

"Can I see you again? Take you out to dinner maybe?"

He felt like a nervous teenager asking a girl out for the first time, but her own nervous chuckle and answering nod that was accompanied by a blush made it all worth it.

Maybe he really was over his own head with this girl.

**\- Stay safe everybody! Love to all - Stace **


	3. Storm Passing

**_Disclaimer - I do not own Arrow._**

**_._**

_Well that was strange_; was the only thing that went through his mind after the encounter he just had.

Tommy was man enough to admit that he was far from an expert when it came to women. Yes he loved them, adored and worshipped them even, had gone through countless numbers and knew exactly what to do to show them a good time, but the female race and its complexities? Well that was still a mystery that he, since the ripe age of fifteen, had been hell-bent on figuring out.

He had been on the way to Oliver's office for a lunch meeting when he had spotted the three girls from a couple of weeks ago, Bianca in their midst.

Mmm, now that girl knew her way around a bedroom. And a taxi and kitchen for that matter. He had certainly had fun with her but one of the things that he appreciated most was the fact that she never expected anything more from him. In the light of day there were no clinging eyes, expectantly lingering on his back as he left the apartment in the wake of questions that were better left unsaid but were still asked; "_Will you call me?_" "_Let's have dinner tonight?_"

And for that he was grateful.

He had had his fair share of clingers, whether it was for his money or just girls that had one too many daddy issues it was hard to tell sometimes, and it was like a breath of fresh air to find someone that understood the meaning of a 'one-night-stand'.

So he watched from across the street as the girls all threw their heads back in unison, laughing at something that one of them had said. And just like the night he had met them, he was intrigued at how different they all were.

Bianca, who was in the middle, was sporting her usual mini skirt, forcing his mind to linger on the memory of seeing her in the red one she had worn the last time he had seen her, the skirt that had initially reeled him in with no hope of return. Bringing his mind back to the matter at hand he took in the rest of her, from the top of her thick red hair to the white heels she had on her feet that made her legs look incredibly tanned. Yep he had lucked out with her.

His eyes then drifted to the woman on her left, knowing that he had seen her at the club but not quite recalling her name. Her curly brown hair created the vision of a halo around her, the white summer dress that clung to her curves only serving to complement the angelic look she was currently rocking.

But ultimately his eyes were drawn to the blonde on the right. Sarah? He was sure that was her name, and for some reason she looked oddly familiar but he couldn't for the life of him place were he had seen her before.

And for once in his life he wasn't captivated by a girl's body, not that it wasn't stunning, far from it, but the thing that caught his attention was her mega watt smile that lit up her whole face and gave the world the impression that she didn't have a care in the world. The way her eyes crinkled from said laughter as they danced with mirth.

And as clichéd as it sounded, even in his own currently scrambled head, the world stopped.

It was as if she felt his eyes on her, compelling her to meet his gaze, and he watched her whole body still as the glimmer of recognition flashed across her pale blue eyes.

His gaze didn't waver as he took her in, watching as her whole posture stiffened, the smile melting from her face rapidly.

Bianca, having noticed the fault in her friend's steps, followed her gaze to the perfectly tailored man across the street.

"Tommy!" She waved him over with vigor, seemingly oblivious to her friend's rapidly falling face and visible discomfort.

Quickly snapping himself out of the trance he was in, he plastered his well-rehearsed billionaire smile onto his face as he crossed the street. His scrabbled brain moving into his usual playboy persona as if on autopilot as he tried in vain to sort through this muddled thoughts.

"Ladies! A vision as always! I see you're saving Starling City's economy one store at a time", he said as he gestured to their hands that were laden with shopping bags of various shapes and sizes.

Bianca let out a ringing laugh at his quip, as the brunette on her left spoke up; "We were just thinking of heading home to be honest, but I'm sure we could be convinced into joining you for lunch?" and now he understood why he hadn't remembered her name from the club all those weeks ago. She was quiet and soft spoken, her voice alone soothing his frazzled nerves as he glanced back at the blonde woman that was yet to look at him again.

Tommy had had various degrees of reactions from the ladies of his past, love, hate, anger, spite, vengefulness, but he was yet to encounter such sadness and avoidance from a woman that he had met once in his life and had barely spoken to.

Why did he cause such a reaction from her?

Better yet, why did _he_ have such a reaction to _her_?

"As much as it pains me to say that I can't spend my afternoon in the presence of such beauty, I really cant. I have a lunch meeting that I'm on my way to. But I would be more than happy to get my driver to drive you all home?"

After a fair bit of ribbing and flirting from him, and lots of peals of laugher and giggling from them, he waved them off, watching as his Mercedes maneuvered away into the heart of Starling City's traffic.

What in the hell was that? 'Strange' didn't even begin to cover it.

She very clearly didn't like him, throughout the whole conversation she hadn't said a word, hadn't even glanced his way a single time, choosing to occupy her eyes with the people walking past them, rather than meet his gaze again.

And he wanted to know why.

And just like at the age of fifteen, he wanted to solve the complicated mystery of women.

_~ A Couple Of Weeks Ago ~_

_Usual night as always? He thought so. _

_Regardless of the fact that he was six ways to plastered, women flocked to his side, but even in his drunken haze he could see the money grabbing ones, hoping to score. Hoping that he either remembered them the next morning and called, or that he would forget himself completely and not use a condom. Per chance knock one of them up. _

_Watching his best friend literally grow up before his eyes was a bit of an eye opener. Oliver was getting his shit together; in his life, with the family company, even within his family Oliver had taken over the position of head of the Queen clan. _

_And while his best friend was on his way to knowing exactly what he wanted in life he was still here, in the middle of a club, taking in the herd of bodies around him, their bodies swaying to the rhythm of the pounding beats that surrounded them. _

_And it was only in his drunken state that he could finally admit to himself that he was sick of it. In the back of his head he had known that he was growing tired of it, the constant boozing and womanizing, but bad habits were hard to break. And this is what he did best; this came to him as easy as breathing._

_Shaking off the two brunettes on either side of him, he made his way unsteadily to the exit, hoping the fresh air would help dispel the unwanted thoughts clouding his mind. _

_But when a warm body collided with his on his way, his instincts kicked in, forcing his hands to circle the waist of the bouncing blonde woman in front of him. And he wasn't kidding; she was bouncing up and down as the drink that she had been holding prior to the collision now decorated her bright yellow top. _

"_Watch where you're going maybe next time yeah?"_

_But he was too preoccupied with watching the now almost see through blouse outlining the black lace that was hiding underneath. That was until a set of well-manicured nails started snapping in front of his face. _

"_Firstly my eyes are up here, secondly an apology would be nice…"_

_Feisty. He liked that. _

"_I'm sorry for ruining your top but I do think it would still look better on my bedroom floor", and even in his alcoholic haze he mentally face palmed himself. It was possibly the lamest pick up line he had said to date. _

"_Seriously that's what you're going with?" She looked at him with big pale blue eyes that were colored in annoyance and disbelief. _

_He knew she meant it as an insult. He took it as a challenge. _

"_You couldn't handle more sweetheart"._

"_Try me"._

_And he did. He grabbed her by the waist and firmly planted his mouth on hers, the grasp that escaped her lips at the action only fueling the kiss as his tongue traced the luscious lips under his. _

_She tasted like cinnamon and mint and it was quite possibly the most sinfully intoxicating thing he had ever tasted. _

The car ride home was thankfully quite and Sara blessed all the gods of shopping who had worn her friends out and made them miss the way she reacted to Tommy.

Because try as she might she couldn't _not_ react to him. The first two encounters with the man had turned her life upside down, till she would do just about anything to turn back time. The first time had been nothing special, a less than desirable introduction, one hell of a kiss and then great sex. The second time however, when he didn't remember who she was? Well that just made her look back and revaluate her life. And from that point it all went downhill; guilt, anger and remorse flooded her and that is what shook her to the core. She had never doubted herself. She had always known exactly what she wanted, in life and in men, and took it no questions asked.

But now? Questions filled her mind that she didn't have answers to, she didn't even know if she wanted answers to them in the first place. What was she doing sleeping with men that didn't even remember her the next morning? Was she being careless in the life that she led? Did she need to change? And it went on and on in a never ending cycle of regret.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the car had reached her flat, the girls opting to spend the afternoon in her and Laurel's apartment, joining Laurel and Felicity who were already there.

After profusely thanking the driver, who had helped bring up all their bags to the apartment, the girls collapsed on the lounge, as Bianca and Jen filled Felicity and Laurel in on their very successful shopping spree, both the girls approving of the purchases that were randomly being pulled out of the numerous bags at their feet.

"What's got you so quiet buttercup?"

Laurel's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and before she collected herself enough to give a believable answer Bianca spoke up.

"I noticed that too! You've been quiet since we ran into Tommy…" and even the oblivious Bianca noticed all the girls of the room stiffening at the sound of his name.

"What have I missed?"

"Nothing Bee", Felicity said, hoping that the use of her childhood nickname could turn the redheads attention elsewhere, "Why don't you show me black dress you where talking about?"

But her efforts where waved off with a hand and all the girls, including Felicity, knew that she should have known better. Once Bianca wanted to know something there was no stopping her, she was like a dog with a bone.

"What does everyone else in the room know that I don't?"

And Sara knew there was no way around it.

"I slept with Tommy".

Bianca stared at her for a minute before she calmly replied.

"Okay. That's fine. You know I'd be fine with you sleeping with him honey but I do wish you would have told me…"

"No Bee, I slept with him before you did. A couple of weeks before".

At this the room engulfed in silence, Bianca processed the information that she had just received in disbelief. While all the other girls had known, all were witnesses to Sara's confession in the bathroom of the club that night, they didn't want to leave either of their friends to their own devices. So they stayed, albeit silently, as the two women storted this out between themselves.

Bianca turned away from Sara towards the rest of the girls in the room, "And why didn't any of you tell me she had slept with him, it's obvious you knew? None of you felt the need?" And her voice wasn't accusatory, more hurt then anything, and it broke all the girl's hearts.

"We didn't know at the time, we found out at the end of the night after you had gone home with him Bee".

"By which time it was too late".

Bianca nodded at their explanations, turning back to Sara, catching the sad look on the other's woman's face before she had a chance to hide it.

"Okay I get this is awkward that we both slept with him but why are you so upset sweets? Are you angry that I slept with him? Because you know I wouldn't have if I had known. You know I wouldn't do that to you right?"

The single tear that slid down her friend's face didn't help and her worry grew, convincing her of the fact that she was missing something vital.

"He remembered you", Sara finally answered in a shaky voice.

_What?_

"Okay. Wait huh? What?"

"He remembered you today. After he slept with you, he saw you today and knew you, even knew your name. That night at the club he didn't even remember my face Bee. I'm that girl, the been-there-done-that and stored away for never girl".

Sara saw Laurel about to interrupt and she put her hand up, not giving her sister a chance to speak yet before she got everything out. Before the floodgates opened and the tears began.

"I know that is what I had always wanted Laurel, you all know that. In and out, no strings attached, it was great and easy. Comfortable. And it was, up until I looked at him and he looked through me, as if I was just another nameless face. The fact that I'm forgettable, that's what hurts. I knew exactly what I was getting into, so there's no one really to blame other than myself. Hell I cant even blame him, we were both so hammered and…"

And that was it. Her vision blurred and she would have collapsed into her tears if it hadn't been for the strong arms of her sister coming around her and holding her up.

"You're an idiot". Bianca said, the delicate one as always, but her words made the tears strained haze she was in fade just a bit, enabling her to look up at the other woman.

"Bianca…" Jen's soothing voice tried to cut off the bulldozer of a woman but Sara felt like she needed to hear a bit of truth right now, and Bianca looked like she was more than ready to give it to her.

"Why?"

"Because you are! I've known a beautiful, strong, confident woman named Sara for years. A guy never called? That would have been because she never gave him her number in the first place. A man wouldn't remember her? So what? She'd show him exactly what he's missing. She'd choose who she'd see and she'd have a waiting list of guys lining up to just get a chance to date her. But above all that, she had always known what she wanted. Who she was! The woman that I'm looking at right now? You're not her. So you don't want to be forgotten? Don't want to have one nights stands anymore? That means your priorities have changed, that hasn't changed you! Don't let that change you! Be the confident, beautiful, strong person again that I adore. That all of us adore Sara."

And that was quiet possibly the most empowered speech that any of the girls present had ever heard coming from the mouth of Bianca Louise Parks.

Laurel watched as her sister visibly changed before her eyes, straightening her back and wiping the mascara from below her eyes.

"You're right Queen Bee. Don't know what got into me."

"Tommy Merlyn got into you that's what, and I do think it's time to make him pay. No man deserves to get lucky with both of us, that's too much epic awesomeness to handle."

They all chuckled at that, the rest of the girls in the room thankful that the storm had passed for Sara. She was far from healed, they all knew, but with a little help from them and a nudge here and there, she would pick herself up again and be stronger when she came out the other end.

And they would help, that's what all of them were here for wasn't it?

~ :: O &amp; F :: ~

A couple of days later Felicity Smoak was having her own personal crisis to deal with.

Well not a crisis per se, it could be explained in two very simple yet complicated at the same time words. Oliver Queen.

She really needed to learn to say 'no' to the man. From the very first time she had said 'okay' to him at the front of the nightclub they had met at she knew she was in trouble. The man did things to her insides that she didn't think were entirely healthy. He didn't even have to be in the room with her, a thought of him or a memory about him could trigger a stampede of elephants to go rampant in her stomach. Whoever created the term 'butterflies in the stomach' was severely under-exaggerating. Either that or they had never met Oliver Queen.

When he had asked to see her again there was no way she was even physically capable of saying no to him. Yes, she had been surprised to find out who he really was, the _Oliver Queen_, as in _Queen_ Consolidated, as in he practically owned this whole building and everyone in it, including her.

But more than anything she had long ago admitted, even before meeting him for a second time and finding out exactly who he was, that she would have liked to see him again, to see where they could lead.

And that smile when she had said yes. Holy mother of all things precious. A nun would say yes to that carefree boyish smile that lit up his whole face.

And so began their wind whirl of dates. And she uses the term 'dates' lightly. Because some of the things Oliver had come up with? Calling them mere 'dates' would be an insult.

Sure there had been the times where he had just taken her to some of the fanciest restaurants the city had to offer and showered her with the best selection of wine that Starling City had. That was to be expected when on a date with the Queen heir.

And yes there had been the time when he had shown up to her house unannounced, his hands preoccupied with takeout bags from what looked to be all the takeaway restaurants in Starling City because he wasn't entirely sure what Emmett would and wouldn't eat. That was possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen; a grown man looking nervous as he watched a six year carefully going through all five cuisines before him, hoping that Emmett would like at least one.

Yes there were dates, and they were all perfect and filled with smiles and laughter, and she had loved every minute of them.

But then there were the adventures. Because some things that he did couldn't just be classified as dates.

On one occasion he had picked her up for lunch, but rather than go down the lift like they usually did to grab a bite from the numerous cafes downstairs, they went up. To the roof. Where there may or may not have been a helicopter waiting to take them both to a secluded meadow on the outskirts of the city where there was a picnic ready and waiting for them. That was more than a little unexpected and she was pretty sure she was speechless for the whole helicopter ride.

After that particularly surreal experience she could definitely admit that she was more than a little overwhelmed by he man that went above and beyond for her. But amidst all the dates and the time that they had spent together he had never pushed her to go any further.

They were yet to have sex again and as of late she was becoming extremely frustrated with that fact.

Especially because she knew exactly what it was like between the two of them.

_The moonlight bouncing off their skin made everything seem that much more erotic, she watched his slow progress as he trailed slow and soft kisses along her stomach and she was woman enough to admit to almost fainting when he took her grater off. With his teeth. But who could honestly blame her? The play of muscles underneath the skin of his back was enough to make any girl weak at the knees but watching him now, before her, she knew she was a lost cause if there ever was one. _

_The way his hands roamed her body, as if trying to memorize each and ever crevice of her being was electrifying. Those calloused fingertips leaving trails of liquid fire in their wake until she felt like she was about to explode from all the heat that was running through her veins._

_It had been earth shattering._

_He had been unbelievably gentle the first time they came together, the way he held her made her think that she was the most precious jewel on earth. And at the time she had thought that this was so much more than she had bargained for. How was she meant to walk away from this one-night-stand if it was one of the best nights she had ever had? _

_After their second and third round in the wee hours of the morning she was more than sure that this was by far the best night of her life, and quite possibly one of the best decisions she had ever made, whether it led to something or not she didn't have the strength to care. _

_And she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if her whole body went up in flames before the first light of dawn._

She knew what being with him felt like, she knew the passion and heat that he both gave and demanded with equal ferocity. So as the weeks wore on and more of their dates passed the more frustrated she got. Because beyond the heated kisses shared in front of her brownstone home that made her heart race and her knees weak there wasn't much else.

And that resulted in one frustrated Felicity Smoak.

So that had to change. Because all was fair in love and war but there was only so much a girl could take right?

**I do profusely apologise for the wait. I'm now on a schedule and a chapter will be up around this time every single week until complete. **

**Just to clarify, this story will definitely be all about Olicity, but I do intend to throw in a few other couples (like Tommy and Sara in this chapter) into the mix to spice things up. You'll never guess who the couple is for the next chapter ;)**

**Love to all as always.**

**Your reviews are magical :)**

**\- Stace XO**


	4. Clashing Raindrops

**Disclaimer – I do not own Arrow. **

"Who is she?"

"Who's who mom?"

A long-suffering sigh left her lips as she took in her son's stiff posture.

"Oliver you haven't visited the house in weeks, you have a smile plastered across your face in meetings that usually leave you bored out of your mind and you cant even look me in the eye right now and pretend to not know what I'm talking about. So I'll ask again, who is she?"

This time her son did look up at her, his gaze meeting her own and she couldn't help but notice the shy smile that spread across his face.

"She's…she's just…"

Moira Queen sat in her son's office, watching him as his eyes flittered around the room, grasping for words to describe the girl that had stolen his attention.

"She's amazing. She's so much more than I could have ever asked for mom."

Interesting.

Moira was far from being a stupid woman, and her son's past with the ladies was well known throughout Starling City. While her and Robert would have loved for him to settle down, especially throughout his more debaucherous teenage years, he had never been serious about any one girl. She had seen him with countless women, always beautiful and always hoping to be lucky enough to add 'Queen' to their name, but they were never successful.

And Oliver had never brought a girl home to 'meet the parents'.

And she had never seen this look in her son's eyes. This shy wistfulness and longing that seemed to overwhelm him.

Interesting indeed.

"How did you meet?"

And with her son not being able to look her in the eye, yet again, she knew she wasn't going to like his answer.

"Tommy and me were at a club and she was there for a bachelorette party…"

At that she rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well where this is going and not wishing for it to continue. She halted any further explanation from her son with a raised hand in the air.

"You can't be serious Oliver! Please don't tell me you're like this over a one night stand…"

But this time it was her son's turn to interrupt.

"Felicity is _not_ a one night stand mother. She is the one woman I have actually wanted to peruse something with in a very long time. She's absolutely brilliant, genius level to be honest, she beautiful and kind and caring. Yes we might not have met in the most romantic of places but she is not just a one night stand for me."

"You really do care for this girl don't you?"

"Yes."

His answer shocked her, not that her son wasn't capable of caring for someone, far from it, but his answer was filled with such certainty and determination that it piqued her curiosity.

"I want to meet her."

"What? Mom, it's still new, we're still in the early stages of dating, Felicity's son is still getting used to me…" at that he snapped his mouth shut, realizing he had revealed too much.

"She has a son? Oliver! You have to be completely certain before perusing anything with a woman that already has a child! Particularly with who you are, who your family is!"

"I know that mother, I know. That's why we're taking things slow."

She nodded as she began to rise from the chair she had been occupying, coming around his desk and cupping her son's face with her hand as she had done many times in his younger years. Her heart tightened just a bit when she felt him lean further into her touch.

"Just be careful my love. You know that I only want the best for you."

And with that she moved towards his door, but not stepping out before calling out one last, "I still want to meet this girl Oliver," over her shoulder.

"I promise I'll arrange something mother."

As she walked towards the elevators she couldn't help but think how lucky she was to have had Robert by her side throughout Oliver and Thea's childhoods.

God how she missed him.

The start of their story was far from the fairytale 'love at first sight', but she wouldn't trade any moment that she had spent with him for anything.

Even their less than pleasant first encounters.

_How one boy could be so thoroughly intolerable she will never know but Robert Queen was a pain in the ass for the ages. _

_Even when he wasn't in the room he managed to make her want to throw him off the nearest bridge. _

"_Oh, but he's sooo dreamy don't you think Mi?"_

_The three girls that currently occupied her bed where oblivious to the torment the current topic of conversation inflicted on her. That was until she decided that enough was enough._

"_Bri! For the last time, no he is not dreamy. No he is not God's gift to women, even though he wont get that through his thick skull no matter how many times I've told him, and most certainly NO I am not having 'the time of my life' living in his house and seeing his face every god-awful day!" _

_All her rant achieved however, was a shake of her friend's head as Bri turned around to the other girls and continued gossiping about what parties he could possibly be attending this summer. _

_She understood the appeal of course; sure with his perfectly careless brown hair, toned body and a smile that could melt cheese, the boy was gorgeous. But then he would open his mouth and it was at this point, at least for her, that the appeal abruptly ended. _

_Sure he could lay it on thick for everybody else, his parents, her parents, her friends, basically anybody that he turned his attention to, and they would fall for his charms like a row of dominos. _

_That is of course everybody other than her. _

_Ever since both their parents had come up with the brilliant idea of pushing them together, in the hopes of joining their two families, their animosity had festered. Whether it was his way of rebelling against the one thing in his life that he was losing control over or whether he genuinely didn't like her she didn't know or care. All she knew was that Robert Queen was the bane of her existence and she would thank all her lucky stars when the day came that her parents would give up on the idea of Queen-Dearden grandbabies. _

_That was most likely the reason she was here for the summer, caught up in yet another grand scheme of their parents to push the two teenagers together. Apparently their own home was undergoing 'construction', and apparently the Queen's offered to let her stay in their home for the reminder of the summer so that she wouldn't be burdened with living in a hotel for the few months before her first year of college started. And apparently, according to her parents anyway, it was rude to decline such an invitation. _

_Far be it for anyone to see that her own parents had foregone the offer and were currently being 'burdened' with the prospect of living in a Four Seasons Hotel suite. _

_One more week in this hellhole and she would literally be crawling up the walls. _

_Not that the Queen Mansion was a hellhole, far from it with all its luxuries and extravagance, but having to see him almost daily was beginning to grate on the very last strands of her patience. _

_That and she was sick of seeing random girls at all hours of the night sneaking either in or out of his room. _

_Because the boy was far from subtle, his college escapades where well known even back in their home town, and he neither cared nor wanted to hide his reputation. _

_Which of course, as can be seen by her friends that were practically frothing at the mouth to see him, only added to his appeal. _

_She mentally patted herself on the back for not snorting out loud at that thought. _

_Robert Queen may be a spoilt, rich pretty boy with a God complex, but Moira Queen was a lady. And even for the likes of him she wouldn't allow herself to forget about that fact. _

Moira Queen wasn't a stupid woman. Her life amongst the extravagantly rich and the immensely influential people had taught her how to read people, their emotions, when they where lying.

And her son was most definitely lying to her.

Or at the very least he would put off the inevitable meeting between his mother and this Felicity as much as humanly possible. And that just wouldn't do, because her meeting with this woman was exactly that – inevitable. By the sounds of things this woman had sunken her claws into her son without him even knowing or caring and she wanted to meet said woman sooner rather than later.

So she didn't go to the ground level as her son's wishful thinking might have led him to believe, but rather towards the Human Recourses Department located on the tenth level of the building.

There couldn't be that many women named 'Felicity' working for Queen Consolidated, it was a pretty uncommon name after all, and from there it shouldn't be too difficult to pinpoint exactly which one was her son's Felicity.

No Moira Queen was not a stupid woman, and anyone trying to get to her son would have to come through her first.

_God, he was bored out of his mind._

_It felt like his parents felt the implicit need to drag him to every single gala in the whole of Starling City ever since he had graduated from Harvard three months ago. _

_Lately they were all about forcing him into making 'connections'. Well that and trying to set him up with what seemed to be every 'suitable' girl that they could find. If only he had known that by 'suitable' they had meant 'boring' he might have reconsidered finishing collage a semester earlier. Because every single girl he had talked to at these damned events managed to bore him to the brink of tears within the first five minutes of conversation. _

_Much like this party to his dismay. _

_Excusing him from Mr. Charlton, a distinguish and balding man that was droning on about some of the more memorable times that he had had in Harvard more than forty years ago, Robert moved towards the bar wondering if alcohol could save this disappointment of a night. His eyes scanned the crowd as he walked, hoping to see a familiar face that would entertain him or at the very least curb some of his boredom. _

_The flash of a red dress caught his eyes amongst all the dreary black that the elite of Starling seemed to favor and he quickened his pace in the hopes of catching the blonde currently in the midst of laughing with the bartender, before she walked off with her already full glass. _

_Robert Queen was used to using his charm and public persona to charm people, his whole life had shaped him to easily hide his expressions and feelings. Within this particular circle of people it was a necessity and by now it came to him as easily as breathing. _

_But even he couldn't hide his shock when the blonde abruptly turned to face him. _

_Admittedly, looking like a fish out of the water wasn't the best look on him, but the smile on her face that quickly transformed into a look of contempt was a bit uncalled for. _

_Moira Dearden. Of course. Just when he thought his night couldn't get any worse. _

_She was the one girl that had managed to get under his skin with one look alone. Her wit was sharp and her words could cut deeper than a blade and no matter how much he had hated her all those years ago, when she had stayed with them that fateful summer, he had not been able to get her out of his head when he lay in his old bedroom every night. Especially when he knew she was only down the hall from his room. _

_College had made him forget, but now it was all flooding back to him, that spitfire of a girl that would never back down from him and kept him on his toes, in his own house no less. _

_But this was no girl before him. Sure he had expected some improvement from the lanky teenager she had been, but this was a woman before him. _

_All subtle curves in all the right places and he had to stop his hands from reaching out and encasing her hips in his firm grasp. _

"_Queen."_

"_Dearden."_

_How they made a suit that fitted his visibly muscled arms and shoulders that well she would never know but she inwardly thanked the fine tailors that he went to. Mentally shaking herself out of the trance she had been in she slowly moved her eyes up to his face again, decorum and class flying out the window when she saw a look in his eyes that could only be described as hungry. How could a boy, that had made her life a living hell, make her mouth dry all these years later with only one glance? _

"_Long time no see," was her brilliant response when manners kicked back in and she tried to form a sentence. _

_His noncommittal "mmm" was her only response as he continued to stare at her, his gaze only serving to make the temperature increase in the room for her. _

"_Right, well hope you have a great night." She said with the hope that maybe when she left his presence she could gather her thoughts and make sense of this new development. What the hell was wrong with her? Tongue tied and uneasy at the thought of a boy? Get your self together. _

_What she didn't expect was his hand to fly out at lightning speed to catch hold of her elbow gently, halting her efforts to dash as fast as she possibly could from him. _

"_Wait, Dearden… ummm…" She took him in, watching as he shook his head as if the action would help him clear his thoughts. Maybe he was just as confused as she was by their encounter? _

_Then a sort of resolve seemed to overtake his whole demeanor, his body straightened and his face was overcome with a look of determination, his hand travelling slowly from her elbow to her fingers. _

"_Care to join me for a dance?"_

Walking out of the elevator into the brightly lit thirty-second level of the IT department Moira realized that it had been a while since she had walked these halls. Sure her son still valued her opinions in all the major decisions of Queen Consolidated, but she had long ago given the reins over to him regarding the everyday running of the family business.

He had proved to her time and time again that he was more than capable in dealing with everything that was thrust upon his shoulders unexpectedly. The way he had handled himself; acted for and represented their whole family when she wasn't in any shape to do so after Robert's death only solidified her faith in him.

She couldn't be any more proud of her only son if she tried.

And that was the exact reason for her coming to the thirty-second level of the QC tower. Because as much as she loved her son, as proud of him as she was, she knew when it came to women his choices were often questionable.

She hadn't been blind to the countless women her son had gone through in his teenage years, their PR department could live comfortably off the salaries they made just from covering up his past escapades with the numerous women that were always lined up, rallying for Oliver's attention.

And that wasn't even mentioning Tommy's influence. She loved that boy like a second son but when those two got together she never knew what to expect. The family jet had never seen so many trips to exotic places as it did in their late teens and early twenties.

Seeing that the office was empty, Moira stepped inside, taking in the view of the city from the windows of the brightly lit office.

Felicity Smoak's office was not what she had expected. It wasn't that she expected a cubicle of sorts, but for someone that was not a head of department or of equal stature, an office of this size was practically unheard of.

Taking a seat in the guest chair she took in the little details of the room, her eyes moving from one colorful object on the wall shelf to the next, taking in the organized space around her. Seeing the photo frame facing away from her on the computer desk she was tempted to have a look at the picture it held but refrained, she would see the woman soon enough and Moira Queen was a big believer of first impressions.

When she had asked a few reliable sources about Felicity they had all said the same thing, and even those fragments of information were nothing to go by.

Single mother and a widow, had worked in Queen Consolidated for seven years after starting her apprenticeship fresh out of college. She had quickly worked her way up the food chain of the usually male-dominated field and was apparently rather brilliant.

That was it. No personal scandals that they knew of to her name, no short flings or office romances. For once in Moira's life gossip seemed to fall short in helping her understand what kind of woman Felicity Smoak really was.

And with her son's future on the line that needed to be rectified. At this stage she had refrained from any further investigation, wanting to first judge for herself whether this was just another money–grabbing gold digger with dreams to be the next Mrs. Queen or not.

So she sat in the brightly lit office, hoping that all of this wouldn't be for nothing.

"_I see you and Robert were getting friendly tonight darling". _

_Moira froze in her bedroom hallway, cursing herself for not being fast enough in escaping her family after the Gala. And she had been so close. _

"_No need to start planning the wedding grandmother, we just danced," she replied in the vain hope that the older woman would drop their current topic of conversation. _

"_Sweetie, trust a wise and honest old woman, that was no ordinary dance between friends". _

_Moira mentally congratulated herself on not snorting out loud at her grandmother calling herself honest. The woman was wise, that was unquestionable, but innocent or honest she was not. Moira loved the woman but amongst the circle of Machiavellian elite of Starling City, her grandmother was the most shrewd and cunning of them all. _

"_And that poor boy couldn't take his eyes off you the whole night"._

_And there it was. _

_She watched as her grandmother sauntered down the hallway to her own wing of the house, her already preoccupied mind now flooding with even more unanswerable questions. _

_Damn her grandmother for planting the seed of doubt in her mind. _

_She could admit to herself that she felt an unexplainable pull towards Robert Queen, even though she still couldn't comprehend how in the space of a dance she had gone from hating the boy he had been, to being inexplicably drawn to the man that had been before her tonight. _

_But what if he had felt it too? What if he also felt the spark that had gone through her when his hand had landed on the small of her back? What is he liked what he saw when he had looked at her tonight? What if he liked her? He did ask her to dance after all. But no, he had danced with numerous girls that night, and she would be damned before she was one of the countless nameless bimbos that threw herself at his feet in the hopes of receiving some form of attention from him. _

_No, she was smarter than that. She had her future to look out for, a legacy that would soon be placed on her shoulders in the form of Dearden Incorporated, and she would never allow herself to be distracted from that by a boy. _

_She knew what was ahead of her, the path that had been carefully laid before her. She had just graduated top of her class and would be going to Yale in the fall, after which her father would teach her everything there was to know about the family business from the ground up. Once he felt that she was ready, she would take over the family business. _

_She briefly had a fleeting thought as to why hadn't her parents given her another sibling to pass all the responsibility to while she could live her life? How different would her life have turned out? Quickly pushing away from those thoughts she shook her head and realized she was still standing in the hallway a couple of meters away from her bedroom door, still facing the direction her grandmother had come from._

_No, she was born for this, finding a husband could wait. Love could wait. _

_Her future was set in stone, and that future did not involve one Robert Queen. _

_Damn her grandmother and her scheming ways. _

As soon as she had gotten out of bed she knew it was going to be a bad day. All she wanted to do when her coffee machine had broken first thing in the morning was crawl back into bed and hide away from the world.

The coffee machine, or as she fondly nicknamed it this morning 'Satan', was only the start of a series of cruel events that occurred before lunch. From QC having every single IT issue under the sun all before 10AM, to her mini not starting this morning, everything that could have gone wrong that morning did.

The bright side of that was that her day couldn't possibly have gotten any worse now could it?

Eyes fixed on the tablet as she read up on recent developments in Bioinformatics, she walked into her office, failing to notice the woman in her guest chair until the sound of a throat clearing startled her out of her thoughts.

She clearly needed to trade in her spidey-senses along with her brain to mouth filter as the former clearly hadn't been working for her as of late and the latter had been absent for the majority of her life.

How could she have missed Moira Queen being in her office?

"Moira Queen, I mean … Mrs. Queen…what…?"

Moira kept her smirk well hidden at the hint of fear that flashed crossed the girl's face, taking the time to study Felicity as she sat stiff from shock in her red leather executive chair.

She was definitely pretty; Moira could even go so far as to say she was beautiful.

She looked young for her age, the blonde hair and the bright, but yet somehow still tasteful, office clothes that she wore seemed to work flawlessly for her and only added to the look of innocence she portrayed.

But her eyes held a different story. Yes, there was the fear that was still very clearly visible at having been caught unawares by the mother of the man that you were currently sleeping with, but Moira looked past all that to the sheer determination and intelligence that was also present.

Yes, this one may be blonde but her son was right about one thing. This woman was smart.

She watched as the younger woman pulled herself out of the shock infused haze, putting away the device she held in her hand carefully and combing a free hand through her blonde locks.

"Mrs. Queen. What can I do for you?"

Felicity absolutely hated how fragile her voice sounded, but honestly how else was she meant to be acting? What was Oliver's mother doing here? Did she know about them? Did she come here to yell at her? Could it be something else entirely?

Moira was never one to beat around the bush.

"Miss. Smoak, I've heard from my son that you two have been dating for some time but yet I had never met you, I thought I would rectify that situation". Moira of course forgot to mention that she practically had to force her son into telling her whom he was seeing. Sometimes getting her son to open up was like pulling teeth; painful and time consuming but necessary.

"Yes, of 'course. Yes. I am seeing your son and I hope that's okay. Not that I really believe that he would need your permission to see someone, he is a big boy after all. And oh God I didn't mean 'big boy' like…never mind. And I do love that he values your opinion, but I didn't know we were at the 'meet the parent' stage. Not that there's ever a wrong time to do that. I haven't introduced him to my parents and I don't think I will for a long time. Not that I won't, I will, eventually, probably. And he hasn't said he wanted me to meet you. He's met my son and they seem to get along… you don't really need to know all this do you? And feel free to interrupt me and my babbling mouth at anytime…"

Moira Queen could on one hand count the amount of times she had truly been surprised in her life. Life had taught her to be aware of what was going on around her, be prepared for any situation that life may throw at you.

When she had walked into Felicity Smoak's office she had expected to be either disgusted by yet another conquest of her sons or mildly surprised if he had finally found a nice girl to date.

She wasn't prepared for the word vomit that she had just witnessed. And she definitely wasn't prepared to be shocked by the woman before her but lo and behold she was shocked almost to the point of being speechless.

Yes, Felicity Smoak was completely different to all the other girls that Oliver seemed to have a constant flow of. All of them were beautiful; some of them were smart, the majority of them were cunning in the hopes of landing the 'Queen Heir'. And absolutely every single one of them had been predicable.

Not this one.

Moira's gut feeling was telling her to get to know this one better and not just dismiss her to the side like all the rest. And she always trusted her gut feeling.

Catching both herself and the woman sitting opposite her unawares she said; "Felicity Smoak, I do believe its time you came to the manor for a Sunday dinner this week don't you think?"

It was posed as a question but Felicity could plainly see that it was more rhetorical than anything. There was no room for argument, even if she was capable of stringing two words together after thoroughly embarrassing herself in front of Oliver's mother.

And she wasn't even five minutes into the conversation.

But who could blame her for being dumbfounded by the elegant woman in front of her who was now rising from her chair with a grace that rivaled that of a jungle cat?

Moira Queen walked towards the door, not really expecting an answer from the clearly flustered younger woman, throwing a casual glance over her shoulder and catching her gaze.

"And do bring that son of yours, I would love to meet him," she said just before she vacated the room completely, her presence still lingering in the air like the scent of her expensive perfume.

And for once in her life, only one thought consumed Felicity Smoak's mind.

Did that really just happen?

**Hope you're all still enjoying! Your reviews are beautiful – thank you. **

**Stay safe everyone – Love to all – Stace XO**


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